'Aren’t our kids worth it?' Mother of Gabriella Rodriguez, girl killed on way to school, calls for more traffic safety for students

Shawna Rodriguez cries during a moment of silence for her daughter at City Hall Thursday. The 15-year-old was struck by a vehicle on her way to school in September.(Photo: The Enquirer/Cameron Knight)Buy Photo

Shawna Rodriguez wept through a moment of silence Thursday at City Hall. It was a moment of silence for her own daughter, killed on her way to school in September.

The driver who hit the 15-year-old Gabriella Rodriguez on Harrison Avenue has not been found. Since her death, another 11 Cincinnati Public School students have been struck by vehicles, many in crosswalks near schools.

Rodriguez came to City Hall to call for change.

“It’s been really hard, frustrating," she said. “Every day they had to cross four lanes of Harrison Avenue to get to the Metro."

Rodriguez said it wasn't until after her daughter died that she realized just how dark and perilous the route from her home to the bus stop was.

Parents, teachers and school board members joined Rodriguez to ask City Council to take quick action to address pedestrian safety for students.

Sheila Rosenthal with the East Price Hill Improvement Association said there have been three pedestrian deaths in her neighborhood in the past 14 months.

“Our streets turn into, essentially, freeways twice a day," she said.

A meeting is planned on Jan. 2 between Cincinnati Public Schools, the city's Department of Transportation and Engineering, Cincinnati police and SORTA, which manages the city's bus system.

Councilmen P.G. Sittenfeld and Christopher Smitherman demanded more immediate action. Both said lighting could be improved near Dater High School and Western Hills before students return to school in the new year. Five of the pedestrian crashes in the past year have involved students from those schools.

They also asked that traffic speed warning signs be put in place and a crosswalk paddle that had been run over be reinstalled. Crosswalk paddles sit in between lanes of traffic to alert drivers that pedestrians may be present.

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"This is absolutely a solvable problem," Sittenfeld said. "There should be a paddle there tomorrow.”

Two motions were passed Thursday authorizing the city administration to take immediate action to address pedestrian safety. Smitherman wants to be updated at the next committee meeting on Jan. 7, on both the safety issues and on the investigation into who struck Gabby.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez gets messages from her daughter's friends every time a student is struck by vehicles.